Pageantate!
' ''Pageantate!'' is the 85th arc in Housepets!. This arc marks the first time we see the full faces of several of the parents, as well as the first appearance of Jake; Joey's owner. Characters * Peanut * Sabrina * Fido * Spo * Tiger * Grape * Fox * Joey * Zach * Tarot * Marvin * King * Max * Bailey * The Wolves Pack miscellaneous demons}} ** "Darth Vader Sanchez" ** "Rockstar Hawk" ** Miles ** Lucretia ** Daryl ** The Other Daryl * Earl Sandwich * Bill Lindberg * Jill Sandwich * Jerry Arbelt * Jeff * Ryan Byron * Jake Plot In a much more formal setting than ta typical "Imaginate" play, Peanut is getting the various pets invited to participate to get in places for "A(n Awesome) Christmas Pageant". The thing is, everyone seems to have a different script. Fox has King Wenceslas, Tarot has Miracle on 34th Street, and Tiger has How the Grinch Stole Christmas. He confirms to Grape that he gave everyone different scripts on purpose to encourage creativity...or chaos. ''Pageantate! play begins'' The Ghosts of Christmas Past (Sabrina), Present (Fido) and Yet To Come (Spo) are meeting to discuss the waning spirit of Santa Claus due to the loss of the Sword of Kringle. Present suggests they create a spiritual pocket realm where Santa can continue to exist in spirit. The Grinch (Tiger), however, appears and objects, determined to find the Sword of Kringle and rule Christmas himself. Spo breaks character and complains about not having any actual lines. Meanwhile... (sign held up by Fox) George Bailey (Peanut) is contemplating suicide over the impending failure of his charitable savings and loan operation. He is stopped by his guardian angel, Clarence (Grape), who emboldens George with a new purpose in life: finding the Sword of Kringle and saving Christmas from an army of demons. George meets the Ghost of Christmas Present, who tells him that the Grinch has cursed the land with a hibernation of frost, and he must seek out the 'Christmas Powers' to help him. George points out that Present must be powerful if he summoned him there, but present tells him the spirits of Christmas are fading. He leaves George with three gifts: King Wenceslas (Fox), Rudolph (Joey), and his adopted daughter Cindy Lou (Zach). George once again asks if Present is a wizard and has 'makey-go-explody' powers of some kind. Present hands him a bag of magic(k) junk and tells him to get out. The Grinch's dog, Max (Marvin), comes in and snatch Cindy Lou. Zach appears grateful to potentially be out of the pageant. George and Rudolph jump to the rescue, and they all get tripped up. George ends up with Rudolph's red nose, leading Peanut to play as if he's fused with Rudolph. He seeks out Blitzen (King) to figure out how to fly (since, contemporary to George Bailey, Rudolph is a relatively new concept). After going through a silly set of instructions, he says it's just magic. After almost perishing from the cold George and Wenceslas arrive in 34th Street, which is near the Grinch's mountain. They are greeted by John McClane (Max) and Susan Walker (Tarot). However just then the Krampus (Bailey) attacks. Blitzen has George call out the Krampus, which leads to him being taken. Meanwhile, King Wenceslas is attacked and quickly overwhelmed by various demons (Miles' cubs) as the set begins to burn down. Blitzen tries to put a stop to the chaos, but gets caught in a building collapse with the Krampus. Before he dies, he warns George to beware the false reindeer. Max then says he will claim the Sword of Kringle. George has Susan reach into a magic(k) bag and read an incantation. The soliloquy, which reads as a deconstruction of Linus's soliloquy from A Charlie Brown Christmas, puts everyone to sleep. The Grinch is confident he will find the Sword of Kringle. However, George says it cannot be found. He states it is a metaphor that exists in our hearts. George then pulls the real Sword of Kringle out of the Grinch's Santa coat, and defeats him. He then takes the Throne of Santa for himself to everyone's worship. ''Pageantate! play ends''' Meanwhile, in the audience, the Wolves cheer wildly, while the human parents present—Earl and Jill, Bill, Jerry, Jeff, Ryan, and Jake—are unsure of what they just witnessed. Events *The faces of Earl, Jill, Jerry and Ryan are revealed for the first time. Bill's face had been seen previously (though never without his opaque sunglasses), and Jeff's face had been seen in ''One Cat's Treasure. *This is the first appearance of Jake, Joey's owner. Trivia *Peanut's "pageant" uses several different characters from different Christmas-related media. **George Bailey and Guardian Angel Clarence from'' It's a Wonderful Life!'' ** The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come from ''A Christmas Carol'' ** The Grinch, Max and Cindy Lou Who from [[wikipedia:How_the_Grinch_Stole_Christmas!|''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!]] ** King Wenceslas from [[wikipedia:Good_King_Wenceslas|''Good King Wenceslas]] ** Rudolph and Blitzen from ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' ** John McClane from ''Die Hard'' ** Susan Walker from ''Miracle on 34th Street'' ** ''The Krampus'' *This is the first time Fox, Tiger, Zach, Spo, and Miles' cubs have appeared in an Imaginate! production. Category:2014 Category:Comics Category:Story Arcs Category:Christmas Category:Imaginate! Category:The Wolves Pack